This past summer, the provincial government issued a request for proposals for a recovery house in Cape Breton and Talbot House submitted the lone proposal.

“We’re just finishing up the (request for proposals) process, making sure that everything is in order and then we’ll be making an announcement on what our decision is,” said Health and Wellness Minister David Wilson, Friday. “In about two to two and a-half weeks, I’ll be making an announcement on it.”

Talbot House, located in Frenchvale and Cape Breton’s only residential treatment centre for men with addictions, closed last March after a Department of Community Services review raised a number of concerns about its operations — concerns which the Talbot House board vigorously challenged.

In August, a request for proposals for a recovery house on the island was issued by Community Services but in October, the province announced it was transferring authority for recovery houses to the Department of Health and Wellness.

Wilson said that shift in responsibility did impact the process, as health officials had to familiarize themselves with the file and ensure due diligence was done.

“It did take some time to ensure that staff here were well updated on the files, so it did take some time and it did delay that process a bit,” he said.

Wilson said he’s as keen as anyone to conclude the proposals process and move forward on the issue.

“I understand that people in Cape Breton are anxious to have this issue resolved and so am I. Recovery houses play an important role and they’re a key component to addictions services in the province,” he said.

Talbot House board chair Dr. John Gainer said Friday that the board will be able to comment once a decision is made, but not until then.

“Until the Department of Health and Wellness finalizes a decision, the board remains under the conditions of the request for proposals, which effectively means that we cannot offer public comment,” he said.

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concerned

January 26, 2013 - 20:20

We need the Talbot house to open now!
Think of the amount of Drug dealers out there and then the amount of people in need of this place. There are a great deal of people who have major drug addictions. With no place to go in Cape Breton, what is going to come of them. The Detox is full most of the time. So when someone goes in for help they are turned away, no room. God help them, they are then back on the street doing the same thing because there is no decent recovery program here.